How We Got Together- Part I

Last Wednesday, the 26th of January, was a milestone. Tan and I celebrated a month of being together. So let me tell a little about how it started.

We met at a church mixer for the Young Professionals group of Evangelical Church of Bangkok. It was on a Saturday night in November at an art gallery that is run by members of the church. I met lots of people that night. I met Tan and Ice at the same time. They are both Thai and have been friends for about six years. I was impressed by how well they spoke English. Of course, they're cute too. They both have studied abroad. Tan went to Adelaide, Australia and New Zealand. Ice went to London. They told me that they were students. Tan's major is English studies. Ice is studying to be a special needs teacher. I told them about teaching and my trips around Thailand and to Vietnam and Hong Kong. Then I didn't see them again for a few weeks.
I saw them again after church. They help teach Kid's Time during the second service of our church. I usually attend that service because the first one is too early. I met two of their favorite kids - Josiah and Jesse, a brother and sister from Great Britain.

One time we went to have lunch at a food court in Emporium shopping mall. Bernd, a friend from Germany, also went. We had a great time! We were very silly, especially Bernd. I don't know a more goofy guy than him. Whenever I say something like, "I've got this friend that..." He'll interrupt and say, "Ooh. You've got friends! That's so cool. How much did you pay for them?" He's almost never serious. And Tan jokes with him a lot. Bernd might say something like: "I'd like to go to Starbucks. Would anyone like to go?" She'll say, "Yeah, Bernd. You should go. We'll stay here." It's all just fake mean things we say to each other. Then we'll all go.
Bernd left and I hung out with Tan and Ice. We played a spot-the-differences picture game. Then we had ice cream and talked some more.

It wasn't until much later that I asked Tan out. One Saturday in December I got a call from her. She wanted some help with her homework. She had to write an essay in English about cultural differences. She wanted to know what I thought were differences between Thai and American culture. We met at Starbucks and talked for a long time. I showed her pictures from my trip to Sukothai and Maesod. Then I told her that I wanted to go shopping for Christmas decorations and a gift for a white elephant party. She offered to help me find them. She was very nice. We found everything and she got my present wrapped in the store. On the Skytrain we started talking about good places to eat. I thought about where all of us could go and then it occurred to me that it would be nice to go on a date.

So I said, "Maybe just the two of us could go on a date?" "What? You mean you like me or something?" I nodded. "But we barely know each other." "So you don't want to? That's okay." "No. I mean I'm just surprised. We can go. When?" So we made a date for Thursday night at Larry's Dive. It's a Mexican Restaurant. She'd never been there. Then I called Bernd and we all went to Saxophone, a blues and jazz pub. It was Bernd and Tan's first time to go there. We all had fun.
More later.

Modern Thai Music and Other Subjects

Thailand is still a fun a place for me.  I'm seeing lots of movies at the Bangkok International Film Festival.  I just saw The Motorcycle Diaries.  I'm going to see The Aviator tonight.  Thursday I'm going to see Hotel Rwanda.  Saturday I'm going to see an Israeli movie called Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi.  Sunday I'm going to see Ray; it's about Ray Charles the blind musician. 

 

In the coming weeks I might have an opportunity to work with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild houses of victims of the Tsunami. 

 

My kids are making slow progress in learning English.  None of them are making great strides from class.  I've noticed a few of my kids are more confident to speak to me in English.  That's something.  I think I've helped the kids that I tutor to learn a bit.  

 

I haven't been learning Thai very much.  It's hard.  It takes a lot of time, practice and concentration.  I have been too distracted and tired to really try to learn.  Tan has taught me a little.  But we normally talk about other stuff instead. 

 

A friend of mine asked what kind of music I hear in Thailand.  I hear American music all the time.  Thai people love it.  The most popular band in Thailand right now probably is Linkin Park.  I'm not kidding.  They love Western music.  Most of them have no idea what they are saying, but they don't care.  Some of my students come into the English office and borrow a cd player to listen to Linkin Park Live in Texas.   They like to shout and scream along.  It's funny and annoying.  It's really easy to buy almost any cd I want.  There are music stores like cd Warehouse in huge malls and lots of illegal cd sellers on the streets.  The police are trying to shut them down.  Good luck to them.  Bangkok is a city of malls and places to shop.  Not to mention the 7-Eleven stores that are on almost every corner.  The malls are huge and numerous.  I could never go to them all. 

 

But back to music.  I've heard lots of different kinds of Thai music.  Most of it sounds like Western pop music with Thai.  Thais love pop music and love ballads.  They sing them all the time at karaoke booths.  I don't like much modern Thai music, but I've heard some that is okay.  I bought a really good cd by a Thai rock group called Moderndog.  They remind me a little of Incubus, the Strokes and ethan durelle.  I've heard Thai hip hop.  It's interesting, but I haven't bought any of it.  I might get some just for fun.  I like some classical Thai music played with classical instruments like the xylophone and the kim.  But I really can't stand the Thai music played during traditonal plays like the Ramakian (Ramayana in India).  The singing sounds like a cat screaching.  They are singing in the ancient tradition of Buddhist monks with the Pali language, which comes from India.  It's horrible.  I heard it during a Thai puppet show.

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About the Subway Crash in Bangkok

We're okay. None of my friends were on the subway when the accident occured. We heard about it yesterday morning from the radio. I read in the Bangkok Post that the subway will be closed for a week to check safety procedures. The cause of the crash is being blamed on human error, probably a careless driver. The subway is run by a computer that tells the trains when to stop and does not allow trains to go if they would crash into another one. Apparently there were no problems with this system. The paper said one three-car train with no one on it was disabled and another train was sent to tow it out of the way. There was trouble getting the two of them connected, and the train driver of the empty cab took off the brake. The train was on a hill and it began to slide. It hit a train that was stopped at a station with lots of people inside. I have heard no reports of deaths. Many people were injured. Two people were in critical condition.

The Freedom of the Open Road

Imagine a trip. It's been your dream for five years. You've convinced your best friend to go with you. You're both so excited. It will be the first time you ever leave the country. You're going to spend at least five months on the open road traveling- just you your friend and whoever you meet along the way. You pack everything for the two of you and tie it to the back of an old motorcycle. You set off with only one specific goal, to reach a far away destination by your next birthday. The path you choose and stops you make are entirely unplanned. What freedom! How awesome would it be to go on a trip like that?

Who would I take? Where would I go? These were the questions I thought about after I saw Diarios de Motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries). It's a wonderful movie about Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and his friend Alberto as they travel through South America. The movie tells the story of Che before he became a Cuban revolutionary. He started the trip when he had only one semester left of medical school before becoming a doctor. In his diaries he wrote about the wonderful beauty and harsh injustice that they encountered. Both men were changed profoundly by their experiences.

I'd love to see the US that way. I've never seen most of America. I could stop and see my friend's home in Illinois. Maybe I would head Northeast and ride through Maine and New York. If I ever did a trip like that I would plan to end up in Canada somewhere. Maybe British Colombia.

I've been blessed to see parts of Thailand in this fashion. I've ridden motorbikes through Kanchanaburi, Sukothai, and Mae Sot. The countryside is beautiful. One time a group of us went through some back roads and found a remote Buddhist shrine and met village people. We stopped and bought Pepsi from some kids' "lemonade stand." I'll treasure these things.

There are lots of foreign films showing for the Bangkok International Film Festival. Life is good. Teaching is good, most of the time. Hangin' out with friends is good. Dating Tan is very good. I hope you are having a good time wherever you are. Take care and God bless you.

Heaven and Hell mixed together

Hello to all,

I'm sure all of you have seen or heard of the Indian Ocean disaster, the latest name the media has given to the horrible events on Dec. 26th.  We're all tired of seeing the images in our mind. Disturbing as they are, we must not block them out.  Remember the survivors in prayer. Pray that they realize their lives still have purpose.  Donate to whomever you trust to help in the relief effort, as you are able.  But don't stop acting after you donate.  Pray and pay attention.  This is going to cause long-term problems for the region.  Here are some stories I've heard.  These can help you to pray and act more specifically. 

Indonesia has been devastated the worst from this tragedy.  Earthquakes are common there, but this one was more than anyone expected.  You can pray that the people will be able to receive food and water.  It is extremely difficult to deliver necessities to survivors in some regions.  Some areas are only accessible by helicopters.  There is also filthy standing water that could allow diseases to spread.

Sri Lanka was devasted by tidal waves.  There were many people who lived along the coast.  Many of the victims were women and children.  There is also a lack of cooperation between Tamil Tigers army and the government.  The Tamil Tigers want their own country.  Violence could spread and prevent the survivors from being helped.

Thailand

I'd like to announce some good news.  I emailed my scuba instructor who worked at Ko Pi Pi, and he wrote back that he and his wife are okay.  But a Thai woman who worked at Princess Dive Shop was lost.  He remembered me and my teacher friends who went diving there in August.  He is the only person I knew who could have been hurt.  So far all of my friends were not there.  One of my friends was planning a trip to Phuket with her parents, but they were planning to go on Wednesday.  The earthquake and waves happened on Sunday.  So they went to Cambodia instead.  I don't think any members of my church in Bangkok went either, which is amazing.  It is a large church.  

On Sunday, I heard the stories of members of my church who went to Phang Nga to help in the aftermath of the tragedy.  Two families with about six teenagers went to the area.  They helped the survivors and family members looking for their loved ones.  These families felt called to do this work because they had lived in Phang Nga for about ten years.  I am amazed by what they did, especially the teenagers.  One woman was a nurse.  Teenagers gave their phone to survivors who called their families and let them know they were okay.  They also worked with translation teams with people from all over the world.  Some of the members of the these teams were themselves injured survivors. One father summed up his experience by saying it was like seeing "Heaven and Hell mixed together".  The Hell of seeing bodies and families separated from each other is obvious.  But he described a glimpse of what Heaven would be like.  No one needed money to get food, to find a place to stay or even to fly out of the country.  No one needed passports. People from many nations, who spoke many languages, and came from many backgrounds cared for one another.  One of them said "It did not matter who you were.  Everyone was seen only as a human." 

Sadly, I read in the Bangkok Post that the Thai government has not been helping Burmese refugees who were victims.  Many illegal Burmese workers have had to hide because the Thai government is deporting them.  These people are denied the right to receive medical treatment and search for their loved ones. 

The family said that we should pray for the orphans.  One boy was at a family reunion when the waves hit.  The survivors wonder "Why am I alive?"  Pray that they will find purpose and hope for their lives.

Sweden declared that this was their worst disaster ever even though the country is far away from the Indian Ocean.  More Swedish people died in this disaster than in any other event in their history.  Many of them were in Thailand on holiday.  Sweden has been neutral in wars and they have not suffered many disasters.  This tragedy can truly be called a global catastrophe.  Almost every nation on earth lost someone on December 26th. 

This is only a short list.  Other parts of Asia, India, and even Africa were also hit by the waves. 

I believe God allowed all this to happen.  I don't believe He did this.  Everything I know about God says He is kind and merciful.  But He is also a creator who set powerful forces of nature to shape our amazing universe.  Governments, scientists, and businesses acted irresponsilby.  Why were so many people living in risky areas?  Why was there no tsunami warning system? Humans were responsible, but I still wonder why God let it happen.  I have to believe that God is good and that He cares for us.  The Bible says that we will see many disasters and wars before Jesus comes again.  Maybe this is a sign of the end of the world.  Maybe it is a warning to not waste time.  Our lives are short.  If you know someone who does not know Christ, then it's time to tell to them. 

May God bless you.  I hope my post has helped you to pray and respond with action.

-Steve

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News about me

Hello family and friends,

I just wanted to tell everyone one more time that I'm okay. I was far away from the tsunamis. I've written many of you, but some might still be worried. I also wanted to send some pictures and tell you that I'm definitely going to teach again in Thailand. I had to decide today, so I told the school that I will come back and teach. That means I will be back in America in late March or early April and then I'll go to Thailand in late May. I was given May 24 as a tentative date for the next school year to begin. That means that I can go to the wedding of Andrew and Dana. They are friends from Baylor.
In further news, I am dating. I know that this is hard to believe... but it's true. I met a Thai girl at church. Her name is Tan. Don't worry she speaks English very well. She is also a wonderful person! I hope youall (read "all of you" if you're not Texan) will live in the blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ this year and beyond. Happy New Year!

Love,
Steven